Echo
by because-donuts
Summary: Who knew that having a near-death experience can change my view in Tony Stark? Being America's "Golden Boy" might be a little harder to handle...


The first few moments after I woke up, Peggy walked in through the door of the normal room. "Good morning"; she checked her watch, "Or good afternoon."

The ball game on the radio—I had been there that day, with Bucky.

This lady that was pretending to be Peggy... I just _knew_ it wasn't her.

"Where am I?" I asked vaguely.  
"You're in a recovery room in New York City," the girl replied.

There was a long silence.

"Where am I really?"

She gave a fake, confused laugh. "I'm afraid I don't understand."  
"The game, it's from May 1941. I know, because I was there."  
The fake Peggy drew quiet, and I got up slowly. "Now I'm going to ask you again: where am I?"  
"Captain Rogers..."  
"Who are you!?"  
The door opened again, and two men in black uniforms with big guns came in. Instinct kicked in. After trying to get a hold of me, I threw them at a wall, which in turn broke through, revealing a larger room of metal.  
In a panic, I jumped into the gaping hole, and bolted out of the two doors in front of me. I made way to a corridor, filled with people of different colors in similar black suits. I looked around for an exit. Over some speaker, I was hearing "All agents, Code 13."  
Everyone looked at me, and started for. I shoved a couple people out of my way as I ran.

Outside, there were cars and people everywhere. I ran down the road and in a few blocks over, I was in the middle of some sort of square.  
There were tall buildings everywhere, each full of lights... and cars everywhere—different kinds of them—and big trucks, and long ones. It was mass chaos.

What happened while I was gone?

How long _was_ I gone?

Suddenly, there were cars surrounding me. Someone called out, "At ease, soldier!"

I turned to the voice, and saw a black man stepping of out one of the cars behind me. He had a leather overcoat, had an eye-patch over his left eye, and was calmly making his way towards me. "Look, I'm sorry about that little show back there, but... we thought it best to break it to you slowly," he muttered.  
My thoughts were going a thousand miles an hour. "Break what?" I felt my breath returning harder. There was a crowd beginning to form.  
"You've been asleep, Cap. For almost 70 years."  
I blinked. I looked around, still shocked out of my mind. Man, I wonder what Bucky would say about this.  
"Are you gonna be okay?" the guy asked me, as if he actually cared of my mental health.  
"Yeah-yeah, I just..." _Peggy_. "I had a date."

I was back in my new apartment in the late hours of Brooklyn. Nick Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D., had stopped by the gym, and talked some sense into me about the Tessaract and this Loki character. I was looking through the files of the other recruits: Bruce Banner, who turns into this huge, green monster. Tony Stark, Howard's only kid. (Apparently, this Stark guy had inherited his father's genius, being as he was a billionaire scientist.) But something about him... maybe not his egotistical side, but his novelty of smarts and come-backs that reminded me of Bucky.

Yeah, I must admit, for a guy like me, I got these feelings in the pit of my stomach every time Bucky would wink at me, laugh with me... but I thought that's what soldiers would feel, because they know that their comrades may be the last people they see before...

Even back then, I shoved those feelings down, knowing having a different sexuality would in turn make society shun you into an abyss of contradiction and self-loathing. If black—African Americans' rights have changed, makes me wonder how drastically everything else has too.

Later in the morning, Agent Coulson had picked me up and brought me to the aircraft that was to take us to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s main helicarrier.

…whatever that was.

On the way, I looked over the briefing files on the electronic tablet-thing. I had sparked up a conversation about Banner, about how he tried to recreate the Super Soldier Serum and thought gamma radiation was a key plot, but failed.

"...you're the world's first superhero. It's an honor to meet you—officially," Agent Coulson said.

I smiled warmly.

"I watched you while you were sleeping."

And that smile lessens...

"I mean, I was present when you were unconscious—"

And there it goes.

Once we stepped off of the plane, a redhead met up with us, telling Coulson he was in need. We walked for a bit, and from what I gathered from her, Agent Coulson either has a thing for me, or things of me like some god. There's only one God, and I'm pretty sure that He doesn't wear spangled costumes.

After finally meeting Dr. Banner, the three of us entered the deck, and I looked around at everything. This certainly isn't an army camp, but its close enough on the outside.  
Soon enough, Loki was spotted in Germany, and Agent Fury had me suit up.

I waited a few meters back, while he gave his heart-warming speech to the people.

One man stood up, among the others. "Not for men like you."  
"There are no men like me," Loki said a bit too over himself.  
"There are _always_ men like you."  
"Look to your elder people," Loki said, aiming his scepter at the man, the tip glowing a blinding blue, "let him be an example."  
He was about to kill an innocent elder, but I jumped out of my place and blocked the blue light of magic with the shield.  
"You know," I started, walking towards him. "The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."  
"The soldier," Loki announced, using the staff to lift him up to his feet. "The man out of time…"  
"I'm not the one who's out of time."  
The jet of which Agent Romanoff was flying turned off the mirror-things and became visible.  
I threw my shield at the god, and it sparked an all-out war. We threw each other around until he deprived me of the shield, having me on my knees. The scepter was pressed at the back of my head.  
"Kneel," he hissed.  
I huffed, using my hatred of the Red Skull and Cobra and above all other things, myself, to drive me. "_Not today_."

When he had me on the ground, loud and obnoxious music started streaming from the jet. I saw a flash of red and gold before seeing Loki on the concrete.  
Stark had opened up every crevice of his suit and threatened to shoot every bullet and missile of the like that it held. "It's your move, Reindeer Games."

I stood beside Stark, staring down the alien.

Loki slowly raised his arms in surrender, and Stark returned to normal. "Good move."  
I breathed, "Mr. Stark."  
"Captain." Shivers went up my spine. That one word, that one simple word…

-

I stared up at the portal after Tony went in with the missile. I was hoping he would make it. "Come on, Stark..."  
Two seconds, and I saw nothing. "Close it," I called through the communicator, telling Natasha to close the portal. Right when she did, a light went up in the sky, and the hole started closing... and gone it went.  
That was when I noticed a speck falling from the sky. The corner of my lips started to turn up. "Son of a gun..."  
"He's not slowing," Thor pointed out right after. He started swinging his hammer to go up and catch him, when the Hulk jumped out of the building and caught him about 80 feet from the ground. Thor and I ran to the two of them a few yards off.

I dropped to my knees beside Tony, and my hand trailed over the part where the light emitting from his Arc Reactor thing should be. I choked back the whine in the back of my throat. My breathing, even as I tried to level it, was hard. I was thinking on giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, even just hoping to save him.  
The Hulk started to growl—at least, I think—and then he roared.  
Tony gasped his head flying forward in shock. My gaze snapped to him, and amazement shown on my face. Banner roared once more, this time, I think, in success.  
"What the hell," Tony breathed heavily, eyes frantic and searching. "What just happened?" Stark's eyes met my own for one moment. "Please tell me nobody kissed me."

I looked up at the Hulk, and noticed a faint smile of humor and accomplishment on his face. Was that last remark a joke? A reference…?  
My hand held the ground, keeping me balanced. "We won," I breathed in a low voice. Feeling the timbre in my tone, I was only wishing my face was a mess.  
Tony sighed in relief, leaning his head back. "All right—yay," he said in as much enthusiasm as possible, even though there was more sarcasm than anything. He lifted his right arm in a celebratory fashion, mockingly. "All right, good job, guys." He took in a breath. "Let's just not come in tomorrow; let's just—nh," he grunted, "let's just take a day off." His eyes flickered to Banner. "Have you ever tried shawarma?"

I grinned, looking down at his damaged suit and then back at his face. _Of course_, waking up from being unconscious from a near-death experience and food is the first thing on his mind. My gaze locked on his lips, the easy flow of words escaping them, the sober meaning and feel to everything.

"We're not finished yet," Thor piped up.

I looked up at him, and around, to catch an eye-full of Stark Tower... what was left of it, anyway.  
From the corner of my eyes, I saw Tony staring at me. "Then shawarma after."  
"I'm actually in the mood for fondue," I said, getting to my feet and assisting Tony to his.  
He looked at me, smiled, and winked overdramatically. "Captain."  
Breathing from my mouth, I felt my eyes flicker to his lips. "Call me Steve."  
With my arm snaking around his back, I pulled his lips to mine. Out of nowhere, he kicked my feet and held onto me. His hand held the back of my head while one of mine tried keeping the both of us from falling.  
Tony pulled back and smirked. "Call me anything you want later; I don't care," he purred, putting us both upright.  
My eyes narrowed at this, and my brows furrowed in confusion. It was when he smacked my backside did anything register. I felt myself going red in the face, and I bit back a smile.

The next day, while the city was in clean up, the Avengers met up in a park to wish the Asgardians good-bye.

Once they teleported out of Earth, I felt a tug on my wrist, and I turned to get a mouthful of Stark. Not that I was complaining.


End file.
